Our research combines tools and outlooks of structural biology and synthetic organic chemistry to elucidate, sense, and regulate the activities of biomolecules. We use state-of-the-art techniques in electron microscopy, diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance, molecular dynamics, mass spectrometry, single-molecule spectroscopy, and molecular design. Our department is highly interdisciplinary, at the interface of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.
News
New article published in Nature - Michael Katz
"Structure and receptor recognition by the Lassa virus spike complex"
New article in eLife journal - Rosie Irwin and Ofrah Faust
“Hsp40s play complementary roles in the prevention of tau amyloid formation”

New Article published in Nature Communications
Rosenblum, G., Elad, N., Rozenberg, H. et al. Allostery through DNA drives phenotype switching. Nat Commun 12, 2967 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23148-2

New paper in JMB
New paper in JMB from Amnon Horovitz’s group (in collaboration with Michal Sharon)
Lavi Bigman wins Clifford Felder Prize 2020
Congratulations to Lavi Bigman from Koby Levy's group, for winning the 2020 Clifford Felder Prize for outstanding accomplishments during the Ph.D.

New article in Nature - Meta Heidenreich
"Designer protein assemblies with tunable phase diagrams in living cells"
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41589-020-0576-z
Ilia Korobko - eLife paper
Congratulations to Ilia for his paper with Hisham Mazal, Gilad Haran and Amnon Horovitz on measuring protein stability inside the GroEL cage
https://elifesciences.org/articles/56511
Congratulations to Rosie Irwin
(Rina Rosenzweig & Hagen Hofmann’s groups) on her beautiful MSc thesis defense

Congratulations Emmanuel Levy
Recipient of the 2020 BLAVATNIK AWARDS FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS IN ISRAEL

New article published in Nature Nanotechnology - Lia Addadi
"A highly reflective biogenic photonic material from core–shell birefringent nanoparticles"
Benjamin A. Palmer, Venkata-Jayasurya Yallapragada, Nathan Schiffmann, Eyal Merary Wormser, Nadav Elad, Eliahu D. Aflalo, Amir Sagi, Steve Weiner, Lia Addadi, Dan Oron
Legend for image:
Schematic of a shrimp reflecting superposition compound eye. In the schematic cross-section the tapetum reflector (blue) composed of isoxanthopterin crystal nanospheres (shown on right) surrounds the light detectors (rhabdoms, orange). The nanospheres backscatter the ‘missed photons’ to the rhabdoms, increasing light sensitivity and vision acuity.

Dr. Hadas Cohen-Dvashi deciphered the target of a convergent humoral immune response against the Ebola virus

Tal Feldman, Tal Ilani, and Iris Grossman - paper in Oncotarget
Congratulations to Tal Feldman, Tal Ilani, and former student Iris Grossman from the Fass Group, on their paper in Oncotarget showing that antibodies inhibiting the enzyme QSOX1 slow tumor growth and metastasis in vivo.

Prof. Joel Sussman - New Honor Announcement
Prof. Joel Sussman awarded Honorary Doctorate from Charles University

Meta Heidenreich wins Clifford Felder Prize 2019
Congratulations to Meta Heidenreich, who received the Clifford Felder Prize for outstanding accomplishments during the Ph.D.

New article published - Hagen Hofmann's group
"Polymer effects modulate binding affinities in disordered proteins"
https://www.pnas.org/content/116/39/19506

Congratulations to Gabe Javitt from Deborah Fass group for solving the structure of the colon mucin multimerization domain
Javitt et al., Intestinal Gel-Forming Mucins Polymerize by Disulfide-Mediated Dimerization of D3 Domains, Journal of Molecular Biology, in press.
Lavi Bigman - JBC paper
Congratulations to Lavi Bigman from Koby Levy's group for his paper (JBC, in press) on resolving a controversy regarding GroEL’s mechanism of action

Aliza Katz receives a poster award in the Israel Crystallography Association meeting in the Technion
Aliza Katz from Ron Diskin's group received a poster award in the Israel Crystallography Association Meeting that took place at the Technion in June 2019

Neta Varsano receives the Dimitris N. Chorafas Prize of Excellence
Neta Varsano from Lia Addadi's group received the Dimitris N. Chorafas Prize of excellence in recognition of her PhD accomplishments at the 2019 Annual Graduation Ceremony

Prof. Ada Yonath - Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009
For studies of the structure and function of the ribosome
Beyond the Basics
"People called me a dreamer," says Prof. Ada Yonath of the Structural Biology Department, recalling her decision to undertake research on ribosomes – the cell's protein factories. Solving the ribosome's structure would give scientists unprecedented insight into how the genetic code is translated into proteins; by the late 1970s, however, top scientific teams around the world had already tried and failed to get these complex structures of protein and R.N.A to take on a crystalline form that could be studied. Dreamer or not, it was hard work that brought results: Yonath and colleagues made a staggering 25,000 attempts before they succeeded in creating the first ribosome crystals, in 1980.
And their work was just beginning. Over the next 20 years, Yonath and her colleagues would continue to improve their technique. In 2000, teams at Weizmann and the Max Planck Institute in Hamburg, Germany – both headed by Yonath – solved, for the first time, the complete spatial structure of both subunits of a bacterial ribosome. Science magazine counted this achievement among the ten most important scientific developments of that year. The next year, Yonath's teams revealed exactly how certain antibiotics are able to eliminate pathogenic bacteria by binding to their ribosomes, preventing them from producing crucial proteins.
Yonath's studies, which have stimulated intensive research worldwide, have now gone beyond the basic structure. She has revealed in detail how the genetic information is decoded, how the ribosome's inherent flexibility contributes to antibiotic selectivity and the secrets of cross-resistance to various antibiotic families. Her findings are crucial for developing advanced antibiotics.
Prof. Yonath is the Martin S. and Helen Kimmel Professor of Structural Biology. Prof. Ada Yonath's research is supported by the Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly.